Carthage

An ancient and celebrated city in Africa, the renowned rival of Rome. It was founded by the Phœnicians, and was one of the latest settlements made by them on the African coast of the Mediterranean, about the middle of the 9th century B.C. No record of the early history of Carthage has been preserved. First alliance of Cart hag in i ans and Romans, 509 B.C. ; the Cart hag in i ans in Sicily were defeated at Himera by Gelo, 480 B.C. ; they took Agrigentum, 406 B.C. , and were defeated by Agathocles, 310 B.C. The first Punic war began (which lasted twenty-three years) in 264 B.C. , and ended in 241 B.C. Hamilcar Barcas was sent into Spain, and took with him his son, the famous Hannibal, 237 B.C. Hannibal conquered Spain as far as the Iberus, 219 B.C. The second Punic war began (which lasted seventeen years) in 218 B.C. , and ended in 201 B.C. The third Punic war commenced 149 or 150 B.C. ; Carthage taken and burned by order of the senate, 146 B.C. A colony settled at Carthage by C. Gracchus, 122 B.C. ; its rebuilding planned by Julius Cæsar, 46 B.C. , and executed by his succe ors; it was taken by Genseric the Vandal in 439; retaken by Belisarius, 533; taken and destroyed by Ha an, the Saracenic governor of Egypt, 698.